Do you think XMRV has been proven to cause CFS? I don't and will 'police' comments that I believe are false. You are welcome to do the same. If you disagree with what I said, please comment on the point, and not attack me personally.

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"Disrepecting scientific rules" sounds like a personal attack to me. Why is it okay for you to dole them out, and insult people, but it is not okay for people to defend themselves from your abuse?

Ila Singh did not say XMRV causes cancer or CFS, only that it "can". Maybe she meant "can" as in "may" not "can" as in "does". Maybe she chose her words differently than we would have, she is from India after all. Calling someone disrespectful of science because of a single ambiguous word seems like a pointless personal criticism to me.

Ila Singh is not a member of these boards, and I am not responsible for her well-being. I am here for members of these forums.

I got a report from someone -- not Kurt, not a mod or administrator -- about your post. I checked it out and agreed with them that it was inappropriate. I let you know this.

I have no feelings one way or the other about the topic of this thread. If I did, it wouldn't matter. I don't insist that people must agree with me in a debate. I respect that they have a right to their opinion. As you do. As Kurt does.

That statement worries me, there is no substantiation for that comment in published research. Either she knows something unpublished that the rest of us do not, or she does not respect the rules governing making factual statements in science.

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Scientist. Not PR front person. Slip of tongue or expressing what is patently clear but not proven. Does it matter that much right now? I doubt it.

I have an amusing little story to share about facts. Stuff that is not proven but obvious. Not today.

Ila Singh did not say XMRV causes cancer or CFS, only that it "can". She is from India and probably she just doesn't speak English like we do. Calling someone disrespectful of science because of a single minced word sounds personal to me.

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What I said was that she either knows something unpublished, or does not respect the rules of scientific discussion. I did not call her disrespectful of science. I am not trying to insult Singh in any way. I doubt this is a language difficulty, and think she knew what she was saying, but you have a point about her being from India. She may not know what is or is not acceptable to say in public in the US about a new scientific finding like this. Or maybe it was just a slip of the tongue. But it was SAID and it is out there now in the public record.

Just so you know, this was reported on a local TV station and my family saw that report last night. So this is not a theoretical discussion for me, it is personal. Now my own family members (extended) may be thinking that a cure for my CFS is just around the corner.

OK, I agree with the others and will let this go. I think we all know each other's opinions.

Are you being sarcastic or are you really offended? Nobody's knocking Indians. But Indian English is not the same as American English, just like British English is different from American English, etc.

Who knows how the interview was edited. She could have said "That's our hypothesis." after that sentence.

]Ah, yes, because she is an INDIAN scientist.
But it's all good, Kurt!

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I was referring to cultural differences, not her credibility as a scientist. Anyway, good point, there probably IS no valid explanation for her comment. Maybe it was a bad edit as CFS suggested, or a mis-statement. I looked at several other articles quoting Singh and everywhere else she has been more cautious, saying things like 'if XMRV is proven to be a cause of CFS'. But people here took her interview statement that XMRV can cause CFS to have more meaning than that.